The present invention relates to a background setting for an aquarium or fish tank for keeping living animals or plants.
The provision of a background scenery, typically in the form of a background sheet, to aquariums is known, for creating a more realistic and attractive living habitat environment. The background sheet is usually attached to the back of the tank, but accumulation of unwanted substance such as moisture or dust between the tank and the sheet is inevitable, that fouls the scenery.
Chinese Patent No. 01263510.3 discloses the use of a transparent panel fixed immediately in front of the rear tank wall to form a narrow gap in communication with the interior of the tank for holding a background sheet in the tank water. As the sheet is submerged in the tank water, the scenery it displays can more clearly and directly be seen.
However, the use of an extra panel, albeit transparent, in front of the background sheet reduces visibility of the scenery. The panel is also prone to fouling by algae for example. Such a double-walled structure is also complicate and therefore expensive to manufacture.
The invention seeks to mitigate or at least alleviate such problems by providing an improved aquarium background setting.
According to the invention, there is provided a background setting for an aquarium having front and rear walls and opposite left and right side walls. The setting comprises a water-resistant background sheet bearing a background scenery for direct submersion in the water of said aquarium to cover said rear wall, and a fixture for fixing the background sheet inside said aquarium.
Preferably, the fixture comprises a groove provided at the bottom of said tank, the groove opening upwards for holding a bottom edge of the background sheet.
In a preferred embodiment, the background sheet is arranged to cover also said left and right side walls.
More preferably, the background sheet is arranged to extend from a front left corner of said tank and close to said left wall, then turns smoothly to said rear wall and extends therealong, then turns smoothly to said right wall and extends close thereto, and finally terminates at a front right corner of said tank.
Further more preferably, the fixture comprises a groove provided at the bottom of said tank, which extends and turns in substantially the same profile as the background sheet and opens upwards for holding a bottom edge of the background sheet.
In a preferred embodiment, the fixture comprises a plurality of suction members for holding a top edge of the background sheet to said tank.
More preferably, the top edge of the background sheet has a plurality of holes for engagement by the suction members respectively.
In a preferred alternative, the fixture comprises a removable mount fixedly supporting the background sheet thereon before they are positioned inside said tank.
More preferably, the mount comprises a planar middle section for extending over said rear wall and opposite left and right side sections curved smoothly therefrom for extending over said left and right side walls.
In another preferred alternative, the fixture comprises a pair of scroll rollers for use within opposite left and right sides of said tanks, on which rollers opposite ends of the background sheet are wound.